Do we think about the words and acronyms in a conversation?
An introduction to lexical ambiguity and defining our meanings
What we say matters. Yes, obviously this includes not saying rude or offensive things. It includes being situationally and culturally appropriate. Beyond this, there is so much more out there.
In teaching, this is often a step that is skipped. Some of my previous research has focused on terms that have one meaning in the classroom or a discipline-based setting and have a completely different meaning outside of that setting. The other use may be in very different settings.
Basically, the same word has more than one meaning.
From my own research, examples of this in STEM classrooms are topics like structure and function, culture, bond, fitness, integral, novel, and exposure, among many others. The meaning of the word, then, is context dependent. What matters here is that research on lexical ambiguity typically is relegated to disciplines like memory, language, and cognitive studies, rather than the STEM fields or education. More attention to what we say and how it is presented to others is essential. This includes learners in many different settings.
When we talk about terms, we might think about both words and acronyms. This discussion provides a great opportunity to reflect on the different terms that we use in education:
Ambiguity can appear also when there is a word salad of acronyms. Every professional area of practice has their own collective of acronyms. For example, what does AMA mean to you? Acronyms are abundant in the diversity, equity, and inclusion spaces: